[Added 3-8-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-7]
A. Purpose. The purpose of planned developments is to further the public health, safety, morals and general welfare and provide for:
(1) A variety of housing designs;
(2) Recreational, and other community services conveniently located to serve the residents of the planned development;
(3) The planning and building of new neighborhoods, incorporating the best features of modern design;
(4) The conservation of agricultural land and more efficient use of open space;
(5) An integrated plan for serving traffic to minimize the burden of traffic on streets and highways;
(6) A more flexible development of land that shall conserve farmland and enhance natural resources such as streams, wetlands, floodplains, groundwater, wooded areas, steeply sloped areas, and areas of unusual importance to the natural ecosystem.
B. Enabling act. This article is adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39.
C. Statement of community objectives. In order to achieve the purpose and to attain the general community objectives set forth in this article and in consideration of current and projected development pressures, the Township of Springfield adopts the following community objectives for planned development districts:
(1) Planning and design goals. All planned unit residential developments shall permit and encourage only those uses of the land permitted which, through the standards adopted in this article, provide for flexibility in planning and development that respects the natural character of the land, the drainage system, soil capabilities and suitabilities, and groundwater and aquifer recharge quality, and to include only those uses that are compatible with other proposed uses within the planned development district and existing uses on adjacent lands.
(2) Relationship to Township development patterns. All planned unit residential development(s) shall be planned and designed to achieve the Township goal of permitting and encouraging a population density and a development pattern in the Township that facilitates the provision of public services, including storm drainage systems, recreation areas, public schools, state, county, and Township roads, in an orderly, functional and economical manner.
(3) Conservation of open space. Common open space and adequate recreation areas shall be set aside in suitable locations to provide for the recreation needs of the residents and the owners of the planned unit residential development and those portions of the project that, because of their natural features, constitute important visual amenities and environmental resources. Planned unit residential developments are intended to have continuity of open space resulting from the integration of upland, wetland, floodplains and surface water areas within the planned unit residential development and other open space areas.
(4) Appearance and aesthetic control. All planned unit residential developments shall be planned and designed to promote and achieve aesthetically pleasing views from and to the various land uses which shall be created by a planned unit residential development. The creation and promotion of such aesthetic conditions shall strengthen and preserve the municipality's unique environmental heritage and promote the civic pride, prosperity, and general welfare of the residents of the planned unit residential development, the Township, and visitors thereto.
(5) Relationship to Township Master Plan. All planned unit residential developments shall be planned and designed in accordance with community objectives for planned unit residential developments as are or may be set forth in the Township Master Plan duly adopted by the Township Planning Board and those ordinances duly adopted by the Township to implement the Master Plan.
Planned Development Overlay Districts as designated on the official Zoning Map, are overlay districts where, if the general regulations are met, an applicant may file an application for development under the standards of this article. In the Planned Development Overlay District (PDOD), the following general regulations shall apply:
A. Minimum gross acreage of tract: 15 acres.
B. Minimum developable land area: 10 acres.
C. Minimum required open space. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XIV (Open Space Regulations) of Chapter 215 (Zoning), a minimum of one acre of the planned development shall be set aside for common open space and recreation or public open space and recreation. At least 0.5 acre shall be uplands.
D. Private water and sewer. All planned development district(s) shall be served by private on-site water and septic systems.
Tract requirements in a Planned Development Overlay District shall be as follows:
A. Building setback from tract perimeter: 50 feet from any tract boundary.
B. Building setback from an overhead utility line or underground pipe or line easement or right-of-way: 100 feet.
C. Parking area or internal driveway or street setback (excluding entrances and exits) from tract perimeter: 35 feet.
The requirements contained in this section and not Article XIV of Chapter 215 govern the provision of open space in the Planned Developments.
A. Minimum lot size: One acre.
B. Minimum lot frontage: 100 feet on a public or private street.
C. The amount and location of common open space shall be determined giving due consideration to the following factors:
(1) The location and construction of adequate active and passive recreational facilities in appropriate locations throughout the Township;
(2) The conservation of stream corridors, including their associated buffers, throughout the Township for passive recreational use;
(3) The protection of environmentally fragile and important resource land area, including aquatic buffer areas, one-hundred-year floodplains, wetlands and wooded acreage;
(4) The preservation of agriculture and prime agricultural lands and the consolidation of large contiguous agricultural tracts;
(5) The common open space shall include relatively large contiguous land areas for open space and/or recreational purposes, as appropriate for the particular development, and additional common open space shall be distributed throughout the development so that as many residential lots as practicable have direct pedestrian access to the relatively large, contiguous land area;
(6) The common open space shall include a minimum buffer area of 50 feet along any tract boundary line, planted with suitable evergreen screening four feet high, eight feet on center in a staggered row.
D. The Planning Board shall review the submitted common open space plan in the context of the particular development proposal, the particular characteristics of the subject land area, its environmental resource value and the ability, desirability and practicality of relating the proposed open space to adjacent and nearby lands. In any case, the lands shall be improved as may be necessary to best suit the purpose(s) for which they are intended, it being understood that the Township's preference is that all environmentally sensitive lands remain largely unimproved and be devoted primarily to passive recreational use.
E. Should the proposed development consist of a number of stages, the Planning Board may require that acreage proportionate in size to the stage being considered for final approval be set aside simultaneously with the granting of final approval for that particular stage, even though these lands may be located in a different section of the overall development.
A. Common open space may be deeded to the Township, another governmental agency or dedicated to an open space organization or trust, with incorporation and bylaws to be approved by the Planning Board. If common open space is not dedicated and accepted by the Township or another governmental agency the developer shall provide for and establish an open space organization or trust for the ownership and maintenance of the common open space. Such organization or trust shall not be dissolved, nor shall it dispose of any common open space by sale or otherwise except to an organization conceived and established to own and maintain the open space for the benefit of such development, and thereafter such organization shall not be dissolved or dispose of any of its open space unless the Township agrees to accept a dedication of such open space.
(1) If the applicant proposes that the common open space shall be dedicated to the Township, then the Planning Board shall forward such request with its recommendation to the Township Council prior to the grant of preliminary approval of the application for development.
(2) All lands not offered to and/or not accepted by the Township shall be owned and maintained by an open space organization or trust as provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-43 and stipulated herein.
(3) The developer shall notify the Township Council when permanent certificates of occupancy have been issued for 51% of the lots in the planned unit residential development or residential cluster have sold; at such time the homeowners' association/open space organization shall assume the responsibility of maintaining the open space and commonly owned facilities.
B. In the event that the organization created for common open space management shall fail to maintain any open space or recreation area in a reasonable order and condition in accordance with the approved plan, the Township may serve notice upon such organization or upon the owners of the development, setting forth the manner in which the organization has failed to maintain such areas in reasonable condition, and said notice shall include demand that such deficiencies of maintenance be cured within 35 days thereof and shall set the date and place of a hearing thereon, which shall be held within 15 days of the notice. At such hearing the Township may modify the terms of the original notice as to the deficiencies and may give an extension of time not to exceed 65 days in which the deficiencies shall be cured.
(1) If the deficiencies set forth in the original notice or in modifications thereof shall not be cured within said 35 days or any extension thereof, the Township, in order to preserve the common open space and maintain the same for a period of one year, may enter upon and maintain such land. Said entry and said maintenance shall not vest in the public any rights to use the open space and recreation areas except when the same is voluntarily dedicated to the public by the owners.
(2) Before the expiration of said one year, the Township shall, upon its initiative or upon the request of the organization theretofore responsible for the maintenance of said areas, call a public hearing upon 15 days written notice to such organization and to the owners of the development, to be held by the Township, at which hearing such organization and owners of the development shall show cause why such maintenance by the municipality shall not, at the election of the Township, continue for a succeeding year. If the Township shall determine that such organization is ready and able to maintain such open space and recreation areas in reasonable condition, the Township shall cease to maintain such open space and recreation areas at the end of said year. If the Township shall determine such organization is not ready and able to maintain said open space and recreational areas in a reasonable condition, the Township may, in its discretion, continue to maintain said open space and recreation areas during the next succeeding year. Each year thereafter the Township may hold similar public hearings to determine whether the organization is ready and able to maintain the open space and recreation areas. The decision of the Township in any case shall constitute a final administrative decision subject to judicial review.
(3) The cost of such maintenance by the Township shall be assessed pro rata against the properties within the development that have a right of enjoyment of the open space in accordance with the assessed value at the time of imposition of the lien and shall become a lien and tax on said properties and be added to and be part of the taxes to be levied and assessed thereon and enforced and collected with interest by the Township in the same manner as other taxes.
(4) Any open space organization or trust initially created by the developer shall clearly describe in its bylaws the rights and obligations of the homeowners and tenants in the residential development, and the articles of incorporation of the organization shall be submitted for review by the Planning Board prior to the granting of final approval.
A. In the case of any open space to be dedicated for farmland, passive, active recreational or other uses as part of an application for development, the developer shall be required to demarcate the boundary lines of the property to be dedicated for the open space and the non-open space property.
B. The type of demarcation to be provided by the developer shall be determined by the Planning Board on a site-by-site basis. Such demarcation may consist of signage, fencing, monuments or vegetation as appropriate for the particular parcel in question.
C. If signage is chosen as the method of demarcation on open space the Planning Board may specify the composition of the signs, whether of permanent or temporary materials, or both, subject to specific site conditions.
D. Areas shall be marked in locations on the open space parcel in accordance with the terms of the Planning Board approval. Additional locations may be required if determined to be appropriate by the Township Engineer for the particular parcel in question.
E. The developer of the project shall be responsible for the cost, physical installation and maintenance of the signage, fencing, vegetation or other demarcation, until the maintenance period is satisfied. The cost of such installation and maintenance may be incorporated in any bonds to be posted with the Township.
F. The intent of this chapter is to provide for the demarcation of all open space to be dedicated to the Township or to others, as part of an application for development.
G. The demarcation of open space under this chapter shall be noted on the developer's final plat. In addition, a notice shall be placed in all deeds for individual lots in the subdivision which are adjacent to open space to be dedicated to the Township or to another party (as applicable). The notice shall state that the property abuts open space dedicated or to be dedicated to the Township or to another party (as applicable) and that the line of open space has been demarcated in accordance with the terms of the developer's subdivision approval and any and all applicable Township zoning ordinances or amendments thereto.
A. In addition to following the procedures and satisfying the standards for general development plan approval and/or subdivision approval established in this chapter, applications for planned development must establish the development potential of all parcels proposed for development in clusters pursuant to the following procedures:
(1) For each lot whose development potential is proposed to be clustered in a planned development, a sketch plat which meets the requirements of § 185-18 of this chapter shall be supplied, except that soil borings in lieu of percolation tests will be provided for each lot and stream and wetland buffers must also be shown. The Board may require that soil logs be witnessed by the Board Engineer.
(2) All lots whose development potential is proposed to be utilized in a planned development must be identified by lot and block number, by owner's name and, if the applicant/developer is not the owner of the property, evidence that the applicant developer has the right to utilize the lot's development potential must also be supplied.
(3) The applicant shall provide a title report, or equivalent evidence certified to the Board establishing that the lot whose development potential is proposed to be clustered in the planned development is available for use as proposed.
(4) To establish the development potential of a noncontiguous parcel outside the PDOD within each Rural Planning District, the bonus density standards established for the AR-10 District, see § 215-16A(1)(h), and the following bulk requirements shall apply:
(b) Lot width: 200 feet.
(c) Lot depth: 200 feet.
(d) Front yard: 50 feet.
(e) Rear yard: 35 feet.
(f) Side yards: 20 feet minimum, 50 feet aggregate.
(5) To establish the development potential of the parcel to be developed in the Planned Development Overlay District the area and yard requirements of the AR-10 District (§ 215-16) will be applied.
(6) To establish that the sketch plat accurately represents the development potential of a parcel in the Rural Planning District the applicant/developer shall supply sufficient information to demonstrate that outside agency approvals such as County Planning Board, Health Department and Soil Conservation approvals as well as N.J. Department of Transportation approvals, if necessary, could be obtained under current applicable regulations for the lot layout shown on the sketch plat.
(7) New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approvals, such as wetland delineation, letters of interpretation or stream encroachment permits, must actually be obtained.
(8) Proposed deed restrictions barring the future development of the lot or lots whose development potential will be utilized in the planned development must be provided with the application for general development plan approval or preliminary major subdivision approval.
(9) Absent extraordinary circumstances, land in agriculture should remain in agriculture. The deed of easement in use by the State Agriculture Development Committee at the time of the application shall be utilized to restrict the future use of land to remain in agriculture.
(10) Parcels not in agriculture at the time of the application may be deed restricted as open space, provided the applicant demonstrates that the agricultural use of the property is infeasible. Proposed deed restrictions shall make adequate provision for maintenance responsibilities.
(11) The receipt of proof that the approved form of deed restriction has been filed in the office of the Burlington County Clerk shall be a condition of general development plan approval and/or preliminary major subdivision approval. No final subdivision plan will be signed by Township officials until a filed copy of the approved deed of easement/deed restriction is provided to the Land Use Administrator.
(12) An application for planned development may propose to utilize less than the full development potential of a noncontiguous parcel or determined by this section.
(a) The Township Clerk and Land Use Administrator will maintain a registry of all such predetermined unutilized development potential.
(b) Such predetermined unutilized development potential may not be conveyed or otherwise transferred except in connection with another application for planned development or unless the property is enrolled in the farmland preservation program or a bona fide open space program.
(c) Such predetermined unutilized development potential may be utilized by an application for planned development in any Planned Development Overlay District (PDOD), not only the PDOD in the Rural Planning District from which it originated.
(d) Notwithstanding that only a portion of a parcel's development potential is utilized in a planned development, the approved deed of easement/deed restriction must be provided to the Land Use Administrator before the final subdivision plan will be signed by Township officials.
(13) No application to determine the development potential of a lot pursuant to this section may be heard or decided except in connection with an application for planned development, an application to enroll the property in the farmland preservation program or an application to enroll the property in a bona fide open space program.
(14) The development potential of a lot may not be conveyed or otherwise transferred except in connection with an approved planned development utilizing clustering between noncontiguous parcels or enrollment in the farmland preservation program or a bona fide open space program.
B. Provisions for phased planned developments.
(1) If a phased development is proposed, the initial phase and all subsequent phases of the planned development must include at least 25% of the estimated total number of lots in the project. All infrastructure (roads, lighting, landscaping, stormwater management systems, etc.) required to serve the initial phase, and all subsequent phases, of the planned development shall be provided with each approved phase.
(2) An open space plan in line with § 185-41, identifying all land proposed to be dedicated as common or public open space within the planned development, shall be submitted with the application for approval of the first phase of the planned development. The Planning Board may require that all or any portion of such open space be dedicated to the homeowner's association or offered to the Township as a condition of approval of the first phase or any subsequent phase of the planned development.
(3) A proposed developer agreement must be furnished with the application for approval of the first phase of the development providing that any infrastructure and/or open space that will not be dedicated to or accepted by the Township or the homeowners' association until a subsequent phase or the entire planned development is complete will be maintained by the developer until such time as the infrastructure and/or open space is accepted by or dedicated to the Township or the association. Maintenance guarantees to insure compliance with the agreement may be required as a condition of any and all phases of the planned development.
A. Design guidelines. The following guidelines shall be used in the design of any planned development:
(1) Regard for natural features. All housing and supporting uses shall be designed with regard to the topography and natural features of the site. The effects of prevailing winds, seasonal temperatures and hours of sunlight on the physical layout and form of the proposed buildings shall be taken into account. Special consideration shall be given to the preservation of natural features, including large trees, stands of specimen vegetation, groves, waterways, aquifer recharge areas, scenic, paleontological, archaeological, cultural, and historic sites and other community assets within the planned development.
(2) Siting of housing. All housing and supporting uses shall be sited so as to enhance privacy for residential uses, ensure natural light for same and, to the greatest extent possible, be designed to promote passive solar energy technology.
(3) Relationship to existing areas. All residential uses shall be located with consideration given to their compatibility with existing uses on adjacent lots and on lots located across public streets.
(4) Mounded septic systems. Mounded septic systems may not be located in front yards or side yards.
(5) Variations to setbacks. To create identity and interest in the layout of housing on streets with residential frontage, variations in setbacks shall be encouraged.
(6) Access. Principal routes for vehicular access to residential areas shall be public streets with pedestrian access and off-street parking located for convenience without creating a nuisance or a traffic flow and safety problem or detracting from use and privacy.
(7) Circulation. The internal circulation system shall be designed to minimize conflicts between pedestrian and vehicular traffic; to permit safe and easy access for the provision of community services, including fire and police protection; to separate local and through traffic; and to minimize additional use of the existing adjacent local road system.
(8) Open space. Open space within all planned developments shall be planned and designed to achieve the Township goal of insuring that adequate, active and passive recreation areas are set aside in suitable locations to provide for the recreation needs of the residents of the planned development district; and that those portions of the Township that, because of their natural features, constitute important visual amenities and environmental resources are maintained in accordance with sound conservation practice.
B. Design and performance standards. The following design and performance standards shall apply to any planned development:
(1) Tree protection. The development shall be designed and programmed so as to minimize tree clearance and the destruction of natural amenities.
(2) Landscaping.
(a) Perimeter buffer requirements. Landscape buffers are required along the perimeter property lines of a planned development to adequately screen the development from adjacent uses. Existing vegetation which is of high quality and appropriate density shall be retained. Where existing vegetation is unsuitable, it shall be augmented or replaced by new plantings in accordance with a landscape plan submitted to and approved by the Planning Board. The perimeter buffer shall be a minimum width of 30 feet. Perimeter buffers may be used to meet lot area and setback requirements.
(b) Building within a perimeter buffer. Structures and public roadways affording access to the site may be located within the required perimeter buffer, provided that such structures are accessory structures such as buildings necessary to house utility functions, entrance gate facilities, signs approved as part of the signage plan, and electrical and other utility elements forming part of an approved traffic signal or street lighting system. No off-street parking facilities or principal buildings shall be constructed within the required perimeter buffer.
(c) Internal landscape requirements. To the maximum extent feasible, wooded areas, specimen trees and existing vegetation suitable for internal landscape screens shall be retained and utilized as design features within the planned development.
C. Lighting.
(1) Residential. Adequate lighting shall be provided for the outdoor areas used by residents and owners of the development after dark. Appropriate lighting fixtures shall be provided for parking areas and walkways and for identification of steps, ramps, directional changes and signs. Lighting shall be located to avoid shining directly into habitable room windows or into private outdoor open space that is associated with dwelling units, and to avoid interfering with vehicular traffic.
